Indian Sports Minister Scraps Hangzhou 2022 Trip Amid Visa Controversy

The trio is from Arunachal Pradesh, an Indian state that China claims as part of its territory and has designated Zangnan on its most recent map.

Years of hostilities between the two nations over the territories resulted in the deaths of 24 troops from each side in a skirmish in 2020.

According to a statement from the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, “India firmly rejects differential treatment of Indian citizens on the basis of domicile or ethnicity, in line with our long-standing and consistent position.”

“A strong protest has been made against China’s purposeful and selective blockage of some of our athletes in New Delhi and Beijing.

Both the spirit of the Asian Games and the regulations governing its conduct, which expressly forbid discrimination against participants from member states, are broken by China’s behavior.

“Furthermore, the Indian Minister of Information, Broadcasting, Youth Affairs, and Sports has canceled his planned trip to China for the Games as a sign of our protest against the Chinese move.

Our response to media queries on some Indian sportspersons being denied entry into 19th Asian Games:https://t.co/wtoQA8zaDH pic.twitter.com/cACRspcQkD

— Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) September 22, 2023

The Indian government reserves the right to take appropriate action to protect our interests.

The group intended to fly from New Delhi to Hong Kong and then on to Hangzhou, but they got lost and had to be rescued and brought back to the Sports Authority of India hostel at the Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium in the capital.

The Olympic Council of Asia has acknowledged that it is raising the issue with the Chinese Government, but that administration appears unyielding in its position.

Mao Ning, a spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry, said, “As the host nation, China welcomes athletes from all countries to come to Hangzhou to participate in the Asian Games with legal documents.”

The so-called “Arunachal Pradesh” is not recognized by the Chinese government.

“Zangnan is a part of China’s territory.”

Wushu in Hangzhou 2022 is scheduled to take place at the Guali Cultural and Sports Center from September 24 to September 28.

It is believed that China is trying to weaken India’s claim to Arunachal Pradesh by providing temporary stapled visas to people from that state.

At the World University Games earlier this year in China, a like circumstance took place.

After only three athletes received the stapled visas from the government, India’s eight-person wushu squad withdrew from participating in Chengdu.

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